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{{short description|Indian writer, poet, essayist (1904–2002)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Annada Shankar Ray
| native_name_lang = bn
| native_name = অন্নদাশঙ্কর রায়
| image = Annada.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|03|15}}
| birth_place = [[Dhenkanal State]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br />(now in [[Odisha]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2002|10|28|1904|3|15}}
| death_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| occupation = Writer, poet, essayist
| language = [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[English language|English]], [[Odisha language|Odia]]
| nationality = [[India]]n
| movement =
| notableworks = Pathe Prabaase, Banglar Reneissance
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives =
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]]
| signature =
| signature_alt =
}}
'''Annada Shankar Ray''' (15 March 1904 – 28 October 2002) was an Indian poet and essayist in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. He also wrote some Odia poetry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annadashankar Roy |work=southasianmedia.net |url=http://www.southasianmedia.net/profile/Bangladesh/bangladesh_lp_literature.cfm#18h |access-date=2006-10-24 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908204621/http://www.southasianmedia.net/profile/Bangladesh/bangladesh_lp_literature.cfm |archive-date=8 September 2006 }}</ref>

He wrote several Bengali poems criticising the [[Partition of India]]. Most notable is "''Teler shishi bhaanglo bole khukur pare raag karo''. Among his many essays, the book ''Banglar Reneissance'' has an analytical history of the cultural and social revolution in Bengal. Ray's best known work is ''Pathe Prabaase'', a diary of his trip in Europe in 1931. He died in [[Kolkata]] on 28 October 2002.

== Family history ==
This [[Bengali people|Bengali]] icon's ancestral place is Kotrung (present-day [[Uttarpara Kotrung]]) in the [[Hooghly district]] of [[West Bengal]]. His ancestors migrated from Kotrung to [[Balasore]] district of [[Odisha]]. His grandmother, Durgamoni, was the daughter of an aristocrat Bengali Sen family of Jajpur . Annada Shankar Ray's father was Nimaicharan Ray and his mother was the daughter of an aristocrat [[Kayasth]] family of Cuttack. Nimaicharan Ray shifted his base to [[Dhenkanal]] following a family feud.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://banglarmamatimanush.com/annada-sankar-roy-jyoti-bandyopadhyay/ |title=অন্নদাশঙ্কর রায় |access-date=4 September 2020 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511133459/https://banglarmamatimanush.com/annada-sankar-roy-jyoti-bandyopadhyay/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Educational life==
Ray graduated in English from [[Ravenshaw College]] in Cuttack. He topped the list of [[Indian Civil Service]] examinees in 1927. He had failed to make the mark in the previous year, being cut off by one rank. He was the first ICS officer from the territory later forming the state of Orissa.

==Literary career==
After serving in various administrative posts, he sought voluntary retirement in 1951 to devote himself to literary pursuits. Ray was a Gandhian in politics and [[Rabindranath Tagore]] inspired his literature. His first published book was ''Tarunya'' (1928), which gave him a footing as an essayist. In 1928, his first collection of poetry named ''Rakhi'' also got published. It includes poems he composed when was in [[England]] and they are creations based on [[Romantic poetry|Romantic]] imaginations thus involving the innate bond of nature and human emotions. His first two novels were ''Asamapika'' and ''Agun Niye Khela''. As an essayist, he was urbane and sophisticated and combined in his craft two different styles of prose, represented by Tagore and [[Pramatha Chaudhurijddjdjjdkd|Pramatha Choudhury.]] A significant breakthrough in his literary career came with the publication of Pathe Prabase, a diary of his Europe trip, in 1931. Ray also established himself as a short-story writer. His collections include ''Prakritir Parihas'' (1934), ''Man Pavan'' (1946), ''Kamini Kanchan'' (1954) and ''Katha''.

A Bengali rendering of a short story by Tolstoy and an appraisal of [[Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay|Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s]] essay ''Narir Mulya'' marked his debut on the literary scene at the age of 16.

In [[Odia language|Oriya]], the poetry ''"Sabita"'' finds place in higher studies of the language at college level, making him one of the few poets to have the distinction of getting such acclaim from two different language speaking states of India.

==Works==
Annadashankar Roy was a contributor of both prose and poetry.

===Novels===
* ''Satyasatya'' (6 Novels)
*# ''Jar Jetha Desh''
*# ''Oggatobash''
*# ''Kolonkoboti''
*# ''Dukkhomochon''
*# ''Morter Sorgo''
*# ''Opposaron''
* ''Agun Niye Khela''
* ''Osomapika''
* ''Putul Niye Khela''
* ''Na''
* ''Konna''

===Essays===
* ''Tarunno''
* ''Amra''
* ''Jibonshilpi''
* ''Eahara''
* ''Jiyonkathi''
* ''Deshkalpatro''
* ''Prottoy''
* ''Notun Kore Bacha''
* ''Adhunikota''
* ''Art''

===Autobiography===
* ''Binur Boi''
* ''Potheprobashe''
* ''Japane''

===Short story collections===
* ''Prokritir Porihash''
* ''Du Kan Kata''
* ''Hason Sakhi''
* ''Mon Pahon''
* ''Jouban Jala''
* ''Kamini Kanchon''
* ''Ruper Day''
* ''Golpo''

==Award==
He received the Vidyasagar Smriti Award from the state government and the [[Padma Bhushan]].<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|title=Padma Awards|date=2015|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref> He was made a fellow of the [[Sahitya Akademi]] in 1989. The [[Visva Bharati]] conferred on him the Desikottama and an honorary D.Litt. He also received the Rabindra Puraskar, the Ananda Puraskar twice and the Zaibunnisa Award of Bangladesh.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Banglapedia|Ray,_Annada_Sankar}}
* {{OL author|1183A}}
* [http://dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080/jspui/browse?type=author&order=ASC&rpp=20&value=RAY,+ANNADA+SHANKAR Annada Shankar Ray] at the West Bengal Public Library Network
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200703/http://www.calcuttaweb.com/cgi-bin/picdispgeneral.pl?%2Fkabita%2Fteler_sisi.gif "''Teler sisi''" poem] at calcuttaweb.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021105130506/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1021029/asp/bengal/story_1334876.asp Master of the rhyme is dead], [[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]]
* [https://www.andrewwhitehead.net/partition-voices-annada-sankar-ray.html Partition Voices Annada Sankar Ray], Andrew Whitehead

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1980–89}}
{{SahityaAkademiFellowship}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Annada Shankar}}
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]]
[[Category:Bengali-language poets]]
[[Category:Odia-language writers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Rabindra Puraskar]]
[[Category:People from Dhenkanal]]
[[Category:Ravenshaw University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Odisha]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Poets from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengali-language novelists]]

Annada Shankar Ray - Revision history

TeenaDease50 at 01:11, 5 January 2026